Rubrics » Bridging News
The Political and Economic Impact of the Conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia
No. 47, May-Jun. 2024 The Middle East, a region endowed with vast natural resources, notably oil, has historically been a hotspot of geopolitical tensions. Two of the region’s most influential nations, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have been at the heart of these conflicts. Their rivalry, deeply rooted in political, economic, and religious differences, significantly impacts regional stability and global economic trends. This article examines the historical context, economic influence, geopolitical tensions, international involvement, and the broader implications of the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. More
The Budget Deficit in the Last 20 Years. Some Observations
No. 47, May-Jun. 2024 Romania has systematically recorded a negative budget execution result over the last 20 years. Essentially, the idea of the normalcy of the budget deficit has taken root, with the only discussion being about its size. In fact, in the long term, we should aim for a balance between revenues and expenditures. Otherwise, everything we accumulate at specific points, for various reasons (be it justified or not), will translate into systematic interest payments. These payments represented no less than 2.1% of GDP in 2022 (note, 70% of the space allowed by the Maastricht rule of 3%), and in 2023 they represented 1.9% of GDP, one-third of the deficit recorded in public finances. More
Russia and China: The Limits of the Unlimited Partnership Have Not Been Reached Yet
No. 47, May-Jun. 2024 The relationship between Russia and China is an important subject of debate for the West in the context of the war in Ukraine and of the invaluable support which China gives to Russia in order to hold its ground against the Western sanctions and to continue the fight against Ukraine. The two countries are, also, engaged in an ample project of organising the Global South and the major emerging economies (plus important non-aligned actors such as the United Arab Emirates and nominal US allies like Saudi Arabia) in structures parallel to the ones supposedly dominated by the West, capable of producing alternate governance models which mark the transition towards multipolarity. Under such conditions, could Western commentators hope for a moderate/-ing Chinese influence on Russia’s actions in Ukraine or for an eventual split between these two powers? More
Romania’s Odyssey to OECD Membership: A Journey of Progress and Promise
No. 47, May-Jun. 2024 Romania’s path to OECD accession and its development are examined in this article, which also presents the stages followed and conformity with the organization’s standards. Romania encountered difficulties throughout the accession process, its enacted reforms and fulfilling the technical requirements for membership. Key stages are highlighted: submission of the initial memorandum, the 2024 economic study, roadmap acquisition, and obtaining the first formal notice. Additionally, the article discusses the benefits of Romania’s OECD accession, reflecting on the ongoing efforts required for successful integration. It focuses on the broader context of the 2022 enlargement wave and emphasizes the significant role of democratic institutions in meeting OECD standards. It underscores the need for improving the educational system and internal challenges within the investment environment. The conclusion highlights how crucial it is to keep an eye on political and economic trends throughout the world in order to adjust plans accordingly, guarantee Romania’s preparation for OECD membership, and integrate Romania into international governance frameworks. More
Extractive Behaviours in Datacracy 4.0
No. 47, May-Jun. 2024 Planet Earth is both an immense habitat – our cradle – and a gravitational vehicle – with circumsolar motion. With its array of natural (im)balances, the Earth is a venerable 4.54 billion years old; the (industrial) imprint left by the human species on it, deemed not negligible, barely exceeds two centuries; and our digital/IT&C/virtual existence, in what we call cyberspace, makes us feel still too young. This quite new frontier to be conquered is competing with the expansive cosmic imagination (Universe), but inverted into a quantum-ritual dreamscape (Metaverse), somehow simplistically assimilated with the internet. Yet, cyberspace is more than the sum, it is the synergy of computers (and all assimilable devices), servers, routers, and other globally connective digital infrastructures (hardware), “animated” by software, including here the omni-technology of our utopias/dystopias, Artificial Intelligence. In our quest for space and sense we do struggle to understand whether AI is a friend or a foe. More
Preparing Students for the Labour Market: The Role of Theory-Based Economic Judgements Against AI-Supported Decision-Making
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 Artificial Intelligence would not have been possible without the great thinkers – in both “hard” and “soft” sciences – who educated themselves, then developed theories to be tested in practice, and while they may have failed in solving resistant conundrums, they excelled in fighting for their reasoned convictions. More
The Puzzle of Political Trust in Romania
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 In the field of political philosophy, the dynamic interplay between citizens and governance within the framework of a democratic system holds immense significance. The complex bond of trust forms the very foundation of this relationship, encapsulating the core essence of democratic governance. This trust, or its absence, gives rise to what I shall refer to as the "Puzzle of Political Trust in Romania," a puzzle that necessitates our meticulous examination. Romania, positioned in the crucible of historical and ideological transformations, presents a captivating case study for this enigma. As a nation that has experienced the ebb and flow of political systems and ideologies, the citizens of Romania find themselves at a critical juncture where the echoes of historical upheaval looms large over the present. Trust is not simply a theoretical idea; it functions as the essential connection that ties together the hopes of the public with the decisions carried out by their selected leaders. More
High Poverty - Low Education, the Vicious Circle
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 A recent report of the European Commission regarding country analysis on Social Convergence Framework (SCF) points out the problems of Romania, where high poverty - low education constitutes a vicious circle. Therefore, the quality, relevance and inclusiveness of education and training should be strongly tackled by public policies to support labour market and improve poverty rates. More
Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing, in the US Elections
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 The 2024 U.S. presidential election will play a pivotal role in determining the strategic direction to be taken by the United States of America. In any event short of a quick decline, the U.S. will remain the most active and multivalent superpower in the world, even in a multipolar paradigm. If for nothing else, then for its willingness and ability to subsidise its key partners’ security, as well as freedom of navigation and the Global Institutions which have, among other things, facilitated China and other revisionist actors’ ascent and development. Combined with the already decades-long ongoing and bipartisan tendency of power accumulation under the “Unified American Executive”, to the detriment of the U.S. Congress, the American elections would have already been of a crucial worldwide importance. Therefore, the Super Tuesday electoral marathon was closely analysed in the hopes that it could signal a “sea change” in the primary elections of the two parties, especially of the Republicans. Instead, the hopeful noises made by the national and global observers have proven to be in vain, as there was neither an out-of-nowhere spoiler contestant nor a consensus by the party camarillas to remove the aging gerontocrats of American politics. The electoral configuration for November 2024 seems to be that of Biden versus Trump, Biden being accompanied by Kamala Harris, while Trump is still keeping the vice-president seat empty in order to negotiate with certain ideological factions or owners of political machines in his favour. Donald Trump’s favourability indexes look very good and he appears to be the leading candidate in the race as long as the sequential legal challenges he faces won’t succeed in creating a precedent leading to the downfall of a favourite presidential candidate. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the apparent persecution of Trump appears to augment his support among the Republicans and independents, not to mention that voters who are motivated by a candidate’s “respectability” have not yet had enough reason to abandon him. From this standpoint, the Democrats who put forward lawfare options for “doing away with a danger to the Republic” appear to be “playing with fire”. More
Models of Historical Interpretation
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 [Originally serving as two introductory lectures to my history courses, the following article was published at request of the editor in Contra Mundum 11 (Spring 1994): 12-20 under the same title. Long out of print, I hope these observations will prove to be of some value to another generation of readers.] More
Independence through Interdependencies
No. 46, Mar.-Apr. 2024 The study titled The role of regional cooperation mechanisms in the current geopolitical context – opportunities and challenges for Romania, authors: Octavian-Dragomir Jora (coord.), Marius-Cristian Neacșu and Cezar Teclean, under the auspices of the European Institute of Romania, attempts to offer a lecture entry-point – one of the many potential ones – regarding Romania’s regional cooperation mechanisms, useful not only to the purveyors of external policies, but to all those who internalize its shortcomings. This approach attempts to make itself useful by signalling the multitude of interpretations of the international reality, which goes from the level of the common citizen all the way to chancelleries and which demands a smart reconciliation and a sage reconnecting at maybe the hardest calculable parameter when it comes to the very existence and functioning of a state: the national interest.The formulated conclusions – out of which a brief excerpt is republished below – emphasise, rather than exhaust, the wide range of possibilities of regional cooperation, in a heterogeneous/eclectic set of catalogued formats/mechanisms, which must be detached, before anything else, from the realm of monotony and rigidity. We are talking about promising, uncharted fields, but also about upsetting redundancies; about lucrative components, but also about bureaucratic laziness; about room for national initiative, but also about convenient conformity. These aspects are further complicated by the upsurge of the contestation of the international rule-based order. Here is a concise inventory of some generic ideas – concentrated in 10 points – which emerged from the research process, while a bit more extensive summary, preceding the study in full (in Romanian) is to be retrieved here. More
Cryonics – Staying Chill
No. 45, Jan.-Feb. 2024 Hey there, thrill-seekers! Ever wondered about outsmarting the ultimate opponent – death itself? Enter the fascinating realm where science, hope, and the human ambition collide – welcome to the extraordinary world of cheating the Grim Reaper! At some stage in our lives, most of us encountered the science fiction plot when somebody hops into a sealed chamber to freeze their body, envisioning a future revival in an entirely new world. Surprisingly, this scenario isn’t merely an exaggerated tale, as people have actually been undergoing cryopreservation since the 1960s! More
